"Oh, you can't help that, we're all mad here."

~Cheshire Cat

…

Elicia stood at her spot at the edge of the forest, waiting for the fish footman to arrive. She stood there for several minutes before a deer footman came along with a large letter almost his size.

Is everything in this Wonderland different than the one in the book? She thought as the footman explained to a sheep footman that the letter was an invitation for the Duke from the Queen and the Princess to play croquet. A…Princess too…?

Both the footman bowed low, being sure to not get the sheep's fur entangled in the deer's antlers. The deer footman then left without another word. As soon as the deer footman was out of sight, Elicia walked out of her hiding place behind a bush and walked up to the sheep footman, now resting next to the door. She considered knocking on the door because she thought the footman was asleep, but the moment she raised up her fist to knock, the footman said:

"There's no point in doing tha-a-a-at." The sheep footman looked up at Elicia, who had tensed quite considerably since hearing his voice. "I'm out here. Besides, with the ra-a-a-acket they're ma-a-a-aking in there, they wouldn't hear you."

"What racket?" She asked, tilted her head to the side in confusion. She knew in the book, the Duchess had been angry with her cook and her baby, but she couldn't think of a reason if there was a Duke.

Suddenly, there was a loud crashing noise quickly followed by a baby's wailing and even louder screaming. Elicia stared at the door, considering skipping the house and trying to find her way to Mad Hatter's place.

"You ma-a-a-ay go inside, you know." The sheep footman said suddenly.

"How am I to get in?" She asked, immediately regretting asking as she remembered the short conversation Alice had had with the frog footman.

"However you like." He said with a sigh. ("Was it a sigh or a bleating noise?" Elicia muttered to herself, trying to decide.)

She nodded to the footman and pushed the door open. Immediately she saw the Duke. A tall, lean, man with a face that reminded her nothing of the Duchess from the story. His face was pale like alabaster without a single wrinkle or blemish staining it. His clothes reflected his station in this world, as he was wearing a midnight blue tuxedo that brought out the perfect metallic silver of his eyes. Elicia blushed a little as she took in his regal appearance.

"What's wrong with you?" The Duke asked harshly as he saw her red face. He didn't even bother standing up from his high backed chair to try and get the child – which Elicia assumed was his – to calm down. "Are you sick? If you are, get out!"

She took a breath to calm herself down as the blush left her face and anger replaced it. "I am not sick! I was just…getting used to the sudden regal appearance of someone."

The Duke laughed hardily. "Very good then, I accept your apology for staring at me."

If he considers that an apology, I'll let him think it. She giggled as she thought that last remark she would never have said to this guy. "Excuse me, but your child is crying. Don't you think you should calm it down?"

"Why?"

"It just doesn't seem very happy."

The Duke shrugged, nearly allowing the baby to tumble out of his arms with the gesture. "Is a baby ever truly happy? It must wait until it can comprehend feelings before it can truly be happy. Until then, it can cry all it wants because it will never be happy, no matter what you do."

"That's a horrible thing to think about a baby!" Elicia said a bit more forcefully than originally intended.

"Regardless, it's still true."

She growled until she saw the purple and pink cat smiling widely at her. Upon seeing the cat, she herself smiled. "The Cheshire Cat!" She whispered to herself. She honestly had not expected to see him in this sideways Wonderland.

The Duke looked over at the Cheshire Cat and then back over at her. "Of course it is! What other cat smiles in that matter? It's been in my family for generations!"

"Generations?" Elicia thought about it for a moment, remembering what Mouse had said to her and about how the pink caterpillar had been told to give instructions to a Liddell if they ever passed through. "How many generations?"

"Since the late eighteen-sixties I'd say."

"No way!" She said with her mouth wide open. So that's why everything's sideways here! It's been over one thousand years since the original story!

The Duke laughed. "Yes, it's true." He set the baby down on the ground in front of him and stood up, stepping over it. "The first in my family to own him was my great-great-great-great-great grandmother, the Duchess. I am merely a descendant of her. I have been rude to you, what is your name?"

"Elicia Liddell." She said, never taking her eyes off of the Cheshire Cat.

"Liddell?! Oh, forgive me! I should have been kinder; your ancestor did save mine from being beheaded by the Queen of Hearts. For that, I thank you." He bowed low enough to make Elicia wonder who was the one being disrespectful the entire time.

"Um…it was…nothing on her part." She said nervously. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I really have somewhere to be."

She turned and opened the door, ready to make a quick exit when he grabbed onto her arm, begging her to allow him to escort her to her destination as a reprieve for being rude. She kindly told him that it was all right and that she forgave him, and left into the woods that she believe Alice had gone to find Mad Hatter.

As Elicia was thinking of how to go about finding the way to what was probably Mad Hatter's descendants house, the Cheshire Cat faded onto a tree branch in front of her.

"Hello there." It said with a voice that should've scared her to death, but considering she was in an ecstasy from finally meeting one of her favorite characters, she didn't care.

"Hi!" She said with a smile that could rival the cat's own. "I was wondering if you could point me in the right direction, Cheshire Cat."

"Of course. But which way are you going?" The Cheshire Cat asked with a small laugh added at the end.

"The way of the Mad Hatter and the Mad Hare."

The cat laughed again and said, "Yes, you know about your ancestor, Alice Liddell then."

"I know almost every word of the story!"

"Well, then, I guess it's my obligation to tell you that the descendants of the person and animal Alice met are the ones that you will find ahead. There are few of those whom Alice met that are left."

"Who are they? I know there is you and the White Rabbit, but who else is there?"

"You will meet them in due time." The Cheshire Cat pointed down in the direction Elicia had been traveling. "Go that way. When you come to a fork in the road, I will show you where to go next." It faded away into the darkness, its smile lingering on the air a bit longer than the rest of it.

She giggled for a moment, allowing her meeting with the Cheshire Cat to sink in. After that moment had past, she continued walking in the direction she had been told to go. Walking through all the vegetation that had gathered since Alice's visit had been a pain for her, but she eventually came to the fork in the road that the Cheshire Cat said he'd be at.

As she approached the tree at the fork, the Cheshire Cat appeared with the same huge grin on his face. "It's good to see you again."

"And to see you." Elicia said, smiling still.

The Cheshire Cat waved its right paw towards one direction. "That way lives the descendant of Mad Hatter."

"Then that's—"

"But, she's at the house of the descendant of the March Hare." It waved its other paw in the opposite direction.

She sighed, really not wanting to go to the March Hare's house, but really wanted to meet the descendant of her other favorite character. She nodded her thanks and walked in the direction of the Mad Hare. She was only about ten feet down the strip of dirt road when the Cheshire Cat appeared again.

"Out of curiosity, are you playing croquet with the Queen and Princess?" It asked.

"I've never played, but it sounds like fun." Elicia shrugged.

"Right then. I must warn you, the descendant of the March Hare is not what you're expecting."

"What should I be expecting then, if not a rabbit?"

"Well, lets just say that she's a bit more…human than would be expected." With that, the Cheshire Cat faded away slowly from tail to always-creepy smile.

She sighed and shook her head, trying to comprehend what the Cheshire Cat could've meant, but eventually just continued walking. Though the entire walk to the house of the descendant of the March Hare – which looked exactly as it had in the story, with rabbit ear shaped chimneys and a roof thatched with white fur – she was wondering exactly how a rabbit could be more human than expected.

Elicia stopped in front of the huge house, and took a breath before nibbling on more of the mushroom piece in her right hand until she was two-foot, three-inches. Though it was a bit taller than Alice had been, she deemed her height close enough and walked through the door of the March Hare's house.